Carjacker accused of attacking Eastpointe woman

A convicted carjacker is back behind bars after he was arrested for allegedly attacking a woman outside of her Eastpointe house and driving off with her car, according to police.

John Randolph, 30, of Clinton Township, is being held in the Macomb County Jail on a $1 million bond set by 38th District Court Judge Carl Gerds III. He was charged with carjacking, a life felony, and stealing a credit card, a 4-year felony.

Eastpointe police were dispatched to a house on the 21700 block of Cushing near Toepfer about 2:15 p.m. Thursday after a woman reported a carjacking. The victim told officers she was standing next to her car, which had the engine running, parked in her driveway when a man ran toward her and pushed her to the ground.

Advertisement

The attacker then entered the car, which contained the victimís purse and other personal belongings, and drove off, Detective Lt. David Ernatt said in a news release.

Officer Ed Lulko spotted the car and suspect matching the description and followed it to a strip mall in the area of 7 Mile Road and Gratiot Avenue in Detroit. Lulko watched the suspect park the vehicle. With assistance from Officer John Arthurs and Detroit law enforcers, Lulko confronted the suspect, who was taken into custody without incident.

The vehicle keys and the victimís purse, which contained the credit cards, were found in the car, Ernatt said in the release.

Investigators discovered Randolph has an outstanding warrant for being a parole absconder stemming from a prior carjacking conviction. State corrections records show he absconded parole from the Macomb/Mount Clemens office on Dec. 18.

Randolph also served four months of a 2-year sentence for driving a stolen car in 2004 in Macomb County, according to state documents.

A preliminary exam on his latest arrest is scheduled for Jan. 14 in 38th District Court.